A modern Art Deco tower would look nothing like the Art Deco towers of the past. Mainly because engineering has changed. The Empire State Building and the Metropolitan Life North Building doesn't have a tube structure. Instead they have columns evenly distributed to all sides at every 30 feet. This method is outdated because the columns would remove a lot of precious office space, and isn't warranted today. Most modern skyscrapers have tube structures like the World Trade Center which includes the one before and after 9/11, the Sears Tower, and the John Hancock Tower. So an art deco like tower is possible (One57), but it would look severely different from the ones in the past again which is One57.

Again I am not saying that 2,000 foot tall skyscraper is impossible, but in this economic situation we are in such a skyscraper won't be built. Until I see Two and Three World Trade Center, and the new Hudson Yards fully leased I don't see it happening.

This tower will probably rise to over 1,200 feet as it has about 30% more air rights than One57.
Important note: Height is not final, only an approximation. Also, there have been no renders released so far.

Again I am not saying that 2,000 foot tall skyscraper is impossible, but in this economic situation we are in such a skyscraper won't be built. Until I see Two and Three World Trade Center, and the new Hudson Yards fully leased I don't see it happening.

They will. It will take time, but once people realize that the WTC is reappearing in the skyline,they will wonder what else is happening. Dramatic things need to happen in the city to raise up interest and then demand.

__________________There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self.
-Aldous Huxley

Bloomberg is fast-tracking a plan to knock down obsolete buildings near Grand Central
Idea is to raze smaller structures to make way for modern office towers

Quote:

RACING TO put his stamp on midtown before his third term expires, Mayor Bloomberg’s administration is fast-tracking a plan to transform the zoning near Grand Central Terminal. The objective is to allow for developers to knock down aging, too-small-for-the-big-time buildings and construct ultramodern towers — the bigger, the better.

“This is something that Bloomberg would like to finish before leaving office,” said a leading business official who was told about the plan but asked not to be identified because its specifics have yet to be formally proposed. “This would be a linchpin of his legacy.”

The existing rezoning, enacted in 1961, does not set a height maximum for buildings, but they generally top out anywhere from 20 to 50 stories, with a few exceptions, including the Chrysler Building, which has 77 floors. Under the proposal, developers would likely have the ability to go as high as the Chrysler Building if they have the real estate for a large base. “That would increase the average building size by 20% to 30%,” one city zoning expert said, also requesting anonymity.

City officials and real estate insiders say the area — known in planning circles as the “Midtown core” — sorely needs updating. The average age of each office building is 68 years, multiple developers who have been briefed by the city said. Buildings in London’s downtown are slightly younger, having been built about 60 years ago, they said, but there is no comparison with Hong Kong, 20 years; and Shanghai, 10 years.

“In order for the city to be competitive globally, we need a lot more new construction,” said Robert Knakal, chairman of Massey Knakal Realty Services. “If you look at the skyline of New York compared to some other cities, you see we are not what we once were.”

... and to quote a fellow forumer:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I mean NYC will have gone from a 500' plateau to a 700' Plateau and now a 1000' plateau of buildings over about 100 years...

Fun With Urban Planning
Bloomberg Pushing for Rezoning Near Grand Central Terminal
Monday, April 16, 2012, by Sara Polsky
Share on email0As Mayor Bloomberg's third term draws to a close, the administration is pushing for a rezoning of the Grand Central neighborhood while it still has the chance. The rezoning would encompass the area between Fifth and Third avenues and East 39th and East 59th streets. It "would be a linchpin of [Bloomberg's] legacy," one unnamed business official tells the Daily News, and it would also have significant implications for Grand Central-area development. Such as?

If the rezoning went through as Bloomberg imagines, it would allow area developers to build up to the height of the Chrysler Building, which one city zoning expert says would make buildings around Grand Central an average of 20 percent to 30 percent larger. A city planning spokesperson says only that the administration is considering the plan now and that it will take a few months to finalize. In the meantime, fantasy renderings of a taller Midtown welcomed to the Curbed inbox.

Years ago, Donald Trump wanted to build a 1.500 ft office tower to the place of the U.S. Post Office-450 Lexington Avenue. The plan was died, but i think that a similar tower could will be a good solution for Grand Central-area development.

Fun With Urban Planning
Bloomberg Pushing for Rezoning Near Grand Central Terminal
Monday, April 16, 2012, by Sara Polsky
Share on email0As Mayor Bloomberg's third term draws to a close, the administration is pushing for a rezoning of the Grand Central neighborhood while it still has the chance. The rezoning would encompass the area between Fifth and Third avenues and East 39th and East 59th streets. It "would be a linchpin of [Bloomberg's] legacy," one unnamed business official tells the Daily News, and it would also have significant implications for Grand Central-area development. Such as?

If the rezoning went through as Bloomberg imagines, it would allow area developers to build up to the height of the Chrysler Building, which one city zoning expert says would make buildings around Grand Central an average of 20 percent to 30 percent larger. A city planning spokesperson says only that the administration is considering the plan now and that it will take a few months to finalize. In the meantime, fantasy renderings of a taller Midtown welcomed to the Curbed inbox.

Good! we can't have all the new talls and supertalls on the West side.

As I recall the original Twin Towers had a lot of politics as well. Design was always secondary to the decision-makers. But I guess every tower has a lot of this.

I hope they make it as tall as possible because something tells me it'll be the last NY super-tower we'll see in our lifetimes.

Chicago is much friendlier to tower construction nowadays. Miami is the best.

To reiterate, NYC is a very poor place to build super towers. Because the taxes and cost of living are too high, most companies don't see the benefit of over-paying employees. The property values, ancient infrastructure, urban politics is a deterrent to more and more companies choosing the outskirts for the location of corporate headquarters. This WTC is a public relations disaster in this perspective.

I remember when Trump was building a tower and like a million people protested it because "it blocks the view of other towers". Ridiculous! See: Seattle "manhattanization" and the result on Seattle construction rates...